Study Finds Humans Care More About Dogs Than Other People

Sounds about right, to be honest.

You're watching a movie and a human character dies, resulting in phrases like "That's a shame," or the odd "Oh no!" here and there.

When a dog dies in a movie, however, we're hysterical.

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Well, it turns out there's a science behind this reaction.

New research has found that humans naturally show more empathy towards a dog than they do other people.

The study, carried out at the Northeastern University in Boston by Professor Arnold Arluke and Professor Jack Levin, this response is caused by our view of dogs as something we have a responsibility to protect.

Professor Levin explains "Contrary to popular thinking, we are not necessarily more disturbed by animal rather than human suffering. Our results indicate a much more complex situation with respect to the age and species of victims, with age being the more important component."

He said "The fact that adult human crime victims receive less empathy than do child, puppy, and full grown dog victims suggests that adult dogs are regarded as dependent and vulnerable not unlike their younger canine counterparts and kids."

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So, it seems that we're not crazy. Our desire to care for and love all of the dogs isn't our fault at all.